CHENNAI: With 33 students of Sir Mutha School, Chetpet, chosen to attend the Oxford Model United Nations Conference (OXMUN), from November 11 to 13 at Oxford University, the school organised an interactive MUN session on Friday. Oxford will be hosting its seventh MUN a programme designed exclusively for school and college students who wish to learn the art of diplomacy and its first in-person conference since 2019. This is Sir Mutha School’s second time at the conference, after 2017.
British Deputy High Commissioner Oliver Ballhatchet MBE was the guest of honour for the occasion. Ballhatchet, who was felicitated by Kritika Kumar, correspondent, Sir Mutha School, was treated to a short video of the school’s earlier stint at OXMUN before he took on the dais to address the student delegates who were chosen for the event.
Ballhatchet began by narrating his journey as a diplomat. He recounted growing up in Windsor just outside the castle walls and studying law later on. “After my graduation, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life, so I started travelling. I spent a few months in Thailand, then moved to India, where I worked at a school run by my aunt in Patiala,” he added. While in South America, he got to know from a friend that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were looking for people with a degree and a variety of life experience.
“As somebody who had both and a strong interest in global issues, I thought I’d give it a try,” Ballhatchet recalled. He finally cleared the examination on the third attempt and began his career as a diplomat.
Ballhatchet’s speech was followed by an interactive session where he faced questions from some of the student delegates, questions as varied as “What are your thoughts on the war in Ukraine”, “what are the chances of India becoming a superpower”, and “what’s your favourite food in Chennai,” all of which he answered. Following this, a mock UN session was held, with each student representing a different nation, as a preparatory round for what would await them in Oxford.
The student delegates were trained for the conference by Ashwin Shanbag of Intermind Global Training Centre, a Chennai-based educational enterprise that imparts training in 21st-century leadership skills among students.
Speaking of Sir Mutha School’s second stint at OXMUN, correspondent Krithika Kumar Quintal said, “We look at it as an opportunity to give our children the best exposure. Since we’re increasingly becoming a global community, our aim is to let students get a taste of what other countries are doing. The first year we attended the conference, we had good results, with four special mentions. Our children are prepared, they have the potential, and so we’re encouraging them.”